MacSpeech Scribe just released by MacSpeech lets Mac users record their voice to a digital voice recorder and then have MacSpeech Scribe transcribe it for them. The only certified digital recording devices for MacSpeech Scribe are the iPhone, iPod Touch (2G+ plus a mic) and some of the Olympus digital voice recorders.
Two of the Olympus digital voice recorders certified for use with MacSpeech Scribe are the Olympus DS-3400 and DS-5000, both from the Professional series of digital dictaphones from Olympus, these are serious digital dictaphones. They both come with DSS Player Version 7 Plus for Mac which simplifies the task of getting the audio off the recorder. The software lets you also setup users on the recorder, set noise cancelation levels, playback and edit your recorded dictation and direct record using your digital dictaphone as a high quality mic.
Out of the box both the DS-3400 and DS-5000 will record in DSS Pro digital audio format, these files have a suffix of .ds2 – files of this format can not be loaded into MacSpeech Scribe so some file conversion needs to take place, this is where DSS Player Version 7 Plus can help. On a Mac it is not possible to set the DS-3400/DS-5000 to record in .aif format by default.
For file conversion you have two options. 1. you can manually convert each file 2. you can set DSS Player Plus to automatically convert audio every time your DS-3400/DS-5000 is connected. Both are very simple:
Manually Convert DS-3400/DS-5000 Audio To .aif Format
To manually convert .ds2 audio files to .aif on a Mac using DSS Player Version 7 Plus simply right-click on the .ds2 file you want to convert and select Convert to AIFF File, your converted file will be placed in the same download folder tray as the original file. If you want to save the .aif file to an alternative location simply highlight the audio file to be converted and click the Convert to AIFF File icon 
.
Automatically Convert DS-3400/DS-5000 Audio When The Recorder Is Docked
If you prefer to convert every audio file during download to your Mac when your digital dictaphone is connected then open the DSS Player Preferences and click the Download tab. Here you can tick “Convert to AIFF file during download” which will have the desired affect. Your .aif files will appear in the download tray folder configured and are then ready to be loaded into MacSpeech Scribe.
I was just told by Nuance (makers of MacScribe) that the Olympus DM-420 works with it . .. yet, the Olympus DM-420 specs say the recorder only produces WMF and MP3 formats . . . neither of which work w/MacScribe
Anyone know how to make the DM-420 work w/MacScribe????
Hello
Yes the audio quality from just about all Olympus recorders is good enough for use with Scribe. The certified recorders that MacSpeech listed came with Mac software called DSS Player Pro v7 which can convert the audio to a format compatible with MacSpeech Scribe. There are plenty of audio converters out there for the Mac that will convert, give something like Max a try.
Thanks
Dave
Dictate Australia
Can you use a PCM recorder or other digital recorders which record in Linear PCM wav files. Like for say the Sony SX712 or the Olympus LS-7.
I have a program called Switch which should be of use and I know that these new Olympus recorders come with Sonority software.